Cool off with a slice of no-bake ice cream cake! This easy summertime treat combines two of your favorite ice cream flavors, hot fudge, homemade whipped cream, and sprinkles—all on top of an Oreo cookie crust. Because this cake needs to freeze for at least 12 hours prior to serving, it’s a great make-ahead dessert option for birthday parties, BBQs, Father’s Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and more.
We’re tackling a never-before-seen recipe on my website today: ice cream cake! This easy and refreshing treat is made for summertime celebrations and should always be included in your line up of cookout desserts. With 5 layers to love, it keeps us smiling, satisfied, and cool all season long.
Why You’ll Love This Ice Cream Cake
- 5 layers of decadence
- Easy no-bake recipe
- Use your favorite ice cream flavors
- Something for everyone to enjoy
- Ribbons of fudge throughout
- Topped with cheerful sprinkles
- Like cookie ice cream sandwiches, this is a wonderful make-ahead dessert
5 Layers to Love
There are 5 layers in this ice cream beauty—let’s review each one:
- Oreo Cookie Crust: This cookie crust comes together with just 2 ingredients: Oreo cookies and melted butter. Be sure to use the entire cookie (the chocolate cookies and the cream filling) when pulsing the cookies into crumbs. Since this recipe fits a 9×13-inch pan, I slightly scaled up my regular Oreo cookie crust. And if you love the Oreo crust here, be sure to try it in my peanut butter ice cream pie next!
- Chocolate Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream
- Hot Fudge: Use a store-bought variety or make your own! I used this homemade hot fudge sauce recipe from Brown Eyed Baker and it’s easily the best I’ve ever tasted. It yields a little more than we need for this cake, but I’m certainly not upset with leftover hot fudge.
- Whipped Cream & Sprinkles: We top with homemade whipped cream for the final layer. You’ll appreciate how quickly and easily it comes together! For a finishing touch, garnish with colorful sprinkles for the ultimate dessert.
You can use any flavors of ice cream you want. Chocolate and peanut butter is a favorite combination in my family, but you could also try: chocolate + cookies ‘n’ cream, vanilla + strawberry, chocolate + mint chip, chocolate + vanilla, or coffee + cookies ‘n’ cream. The options are endless!
Here are a few step photos of the process. It’s really not as much work as it seems, though you will take a few trips back and forth from the freezer. You’ll find a video tutorial and the full recipe at the bottom of the page.
After you make the Oreo cookie crust and tightly pack it into the pan, freeze it for 15 minutes. During this time, get your first flavor of ice cream ready (below). Spread this ice cream onto the crust and freeze it.
Get your second flavor of ice cream ready. Spread this ice cream onto the first layer of ice cream and freeze it (below).
While the 2 ice cream layers are freezing, prepare your hot fudge. You’ll let the hot fudge sauce cool down after making it, but it will never be as cold as the ice cream layer underneath it. Because of the difference in temperature, the hot fudge and the top layer of ice cream swirl together—this is to be expected. Place the cake back in the freezer for 15 minutes before spreading the whipped cream on top.
Make the whipped cream. Spread this on top of the hot fudge and add sprinkles (below). Freeze until ready to serve! As the cake freezes, the inside layers stay separate, but move around quite a bit, creating beautiful layers.
Ice Cream Cake Success Tips
- Soften the ice cream and stir it around in a bowl to smooth it out before layering. Stirring the ice cream creates a uniform texture which makes layering so much easier.
- Freeze the cake for 15–30 minutes in between adding each layer.
- Make sure you have at least an hour to prepare the cake. See #2.
- Follow the Oreo crust recipe below. More butter than written below (we use 1/2 cup today) made the frozen crust way too firm, and cutting was quite difficult.
- If using store-bought hot fudge, slightly heat it up. This makes it a little easier to spread on top of the ice cream. The hot fudge and the top layer of ice cream will sort of mesh together as you spread and that’s OK!
- At a minimum, let the cake freeze overnight (and up to a few days).
- For clean cuts, run a sharp knife under hot water before slicing. This trick works when cutting brownie ice cream sandwiches too.
Homemade Whipped Cream
Homemade whipped cream is so easy to make and the perfect topping for our ice cream cake. And it’s nice to have a homemade element to this cake, especially if you’re using store-bought ice cream and hot fudge. You only need 3 simple ingredients to whip up a batch—it’s light, refreshing, and adds a wonderful texture to today’s frozen dessert.
More Frozen Favorites
- Cookie Dough Ice Cream Pie
- Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake
- Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream
- Brownie Baked Alaska
- Ice Cream Loaf Cake
Easy 5 Layer Ice Cream Cake
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 12 hours
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Simple and divine 5-layer ice cream cake sitting on top of an Oreo crust. Cool off and celebrate with this easy recipe!
Ingredients
- 30 regular Oreos (not Double-Stuf)
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 quart chocolate ice cream, softened
- 1 quart your choice flavor ice cream, softened (I used peanut butter cup)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (420g) hot fudge (store-bought or yummy homemade)
Whipped Cream
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons (15g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- sprinkles
Instructions
- Make the crust: In a food processor or blender, pulse 30 Oreos (including the cream filling) into a fine crumb. You should have about 3 cups crumbs, or 330g. Pour crumbs into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and quite wet. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9×13-inch pan. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom to make a compact, thick crust. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- During that time, place the softened chocolate ice cream in a bowl and give it a good stir to rid any frozen lumps. You want a nice smooth, soft ice cream. Spread it on top of the frozen crust. Freeze for 15–30 minutes. (Closer to 30 minutes is ideal.)
- During that time, place the 2nd ice cream flavor into a bowl and stir it until it is smooth and very soft. Carefully spread on top of the chocolate ice cream. Freeze for 15–30 minutes. (Closer to 30 minutes is ideal.)
- Make sure the hot fudge is spreadable consistency. You may have to slightly heat it if using store-bought. Spread it on top of the ice cream as best you can. Because it is not as cold as the ice cream layer, the two will slightly mix together as you spread. That’s ok. Freeze for 15–30 minutes. (Closer to 30 minutes is ideal.)
- Make the whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4–5 minutes. Spread on top of hot fudge layer, then top with sprinkles. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze for at least 12 hours before serving (and up to a few days).
- Use a very sharp knife to cut, making sure you are cutting into the crust. Keep leftovers in the freezer.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowl | 9×13-inch Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Ice Cream: 1 quart of ice cream is 2/3 of a standard 1.5 quart container. So you’ll use a little more than half of the container for each ice cream layer.
Keywords: ice cream cake, easy ice cream cake
I don’t have room in my freezer for a 9×13 and want to make this in a 8 or 9″ square. Should I just halve the ingredients?
Hi Andi, You can halve the recipe for an 8×8 inch pan, or even a 9 inch round pan if needed. Let us know if you give it a try!
Followed the recipe except I used 6-7 T. Of butter and mint chocolate chip ice cream for the second layer. I also only let the ice cream soften just enough to stir and allowed way more than an hour to freeze each layer due to an extreme heat wave today. So an hour after the whipped cream layer was added, the cake was easy to slice and the perfect end to a sweltering day! Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
In the past whenever I’ve made ice cream cakes that had a chocolate wafer crust I had an impossible time cutting through it because it’s so hard. Do you have any tips or suggestions to prevent this from happening? Does using the oreo cookies make it easier to cut through?
Hi Anna, we haven’t has an issue with this Oreo cookie crust being too firm here.
I used 6-7 T of butter briefly ran my knife under warm water before slicing and had no issues. I also rubbed my butter wrapper around the pan before making the crust.
Hi Sally, what size dish is yours including depth? I have the Pyrex lasagna pan. Is that what you used? I believe it is 10×15 and 2 inches deep. Is this too big?
Hi Sam, we use a 9×13 baking dish that is about 2 inches deep. A 10×15 inch pan would be a bit too large for this recipe.
LOVE this recipe. I am not an expert baker, and I have made it twice in the past couple of months. Both were huge successes. My sister said it was the best ice cream cake she’s ever had. (Wow!) I use a 10-inch spring form pan and use half the crust mix on the bottom, the other half in the middle between the two ice cream layers. (I use 6 TBSP of butter for the crust.) I had never made whipped cream before, but your recipe made it so easy, and it was a perfect complement to the sweeter ingredients.. Thank you, Sally. I don’t think I’ll ever buy an ice cream cake again.
★★★★★
So glad this was a hit, Leah!
I made this with gelato and caramel sauce and it turned out very well. As so many other reviewers stated, however, the Oreo crust was difficult to cut through, even though I was careful to tamp it down with a lighter touch. Next time I’d use just 6 or 7 Tbsp of butter, rather than a whole stick.
Would this work with gelato instead of ice cream?
Should work just fine!
Woohoo! Will let you know how it goes. You guys are the *best*!
I am wondering if this can be made in a springform pan?
Hi Susie, the quantities listed here are a little too much for a 9 inch springform pan. But this recipe is very forgiving so you can use your best judgement how thick to make each layer.
Hi, Can you substitute chocolate icebox cookies in place of Oreos? Thanks!
Hi Anne, if they’re crispy/hard like Oreos, that should work. Depending on the consistency (and since you won’t have the cream filling from Oreos), you may need to tinker with the amount of butter a bit. Let us know what you try!
I made this for my son’s birthday. I only had time to freeze it for 6-7 hours. All of the layers were perfect and easy to cut, except for the Oreo crust. It was almost impossible to get it up. Next time I will probably just mix the Oreos into the ice cream and not worry about a crust. I used store bought hot fudge and homemade whipped cream. The kiddos especially enjoyed it of course.
I made this for my son’s birthday. We all enjoyed it, however, the Oreo layer was almost impossible to get off the bottom of the pan. Next time I think I will mix the Oreos into the ice cream instead of having a crust. I was also only able to freeze it for about 6-7 hours. All of the other layers besides the Oreo were perfect and easy to cut through.
Maybe just line the pan with parchment paper?